Crime Science: Methods of Forensic Detection - Hardcover

Nickell, Joe; Fischer, John F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813120918 ISBN 13: 9780813120911

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky, 1998

Synopsis

The O.J. Simpson trial. The Lindbergh kidnapping. The death of Marilyn Monroe. The assassination of the Romanovs. The Atlanta child murders. All controversial cases. All investigated with the latest techniques in forensic science. Nationally respected investigators Joe Nickell and John Fischer explain the science behind the criminal investigations that have captured the nation's attention. Crime Science is a comprehensive guide to forensics. Without being overly technical or treating scientific techniques superficially, the authors introduce readers to the work of firearms experts, document examiners, fingerprint technicians, medical examiners, and forensic anthropologists. Each topic is treated in a separate chapter, in a clear and understandable style. Nickell and Fisher describe fingerprint classification and autopsies, explain how fibers link victims to their killers, and examine the science underlying DNA profiling and toxicological analysis. From weapons analysis to handwriting samples to shoe and tire impressions, Crime Science outlines the indispensable tools and techniques that investigators use to make sense of a crime scene. Each chapter closes with a study of a well-known case, revealing how the principles of forensic science work in practice.

About this title

About the Author

Joe Nickell, Senior Research Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), is the author of more than twenty investigative books, including Secrets of the Sideshows and Real-Life X-Files: Investigating the Paranormal.

Reviews

Nickell (Pen, Ink and Evidence) and Fischer provide a comprehensive primer of forensic investigation for the uninitiated. After an introductory chapter details the proper protocol for securing a crime scene, nine chapters focus on different forms of evidence. Although the writing is uninspired, a great deal of basic information is presented. Each chapter ends with a well-known case study in which the techniques discussed played a significant role. The relatively brief case studies are the most interesting portion of the book and demonstrate the range of evidence with which investigators must deal. A conviction was secured in the Lindbergh kidnapping by matching marks on a homemade ladder left at the crime scene with a carpenter's plane in Bruno Hauptmann's garage; a detailed fiber analysis led police to conclude that Wayne Williams was responsible for the deaths of 30 black men in Atlanta. Also discussed are firearms in the Sacco and Vanzetti case, toxicology in the investigation into Marilyn Monroe's suicide, DNA "fingerprinting" in the O.J. Simpson case and anthropological techniques in an examination of the deaths of Russia's last czar and his family. Some technical material, like how a bullet's entry hole might be smaller than the bullet making the hole, is glossed over, but there's enough here to satisfy most inquisitive readers. 65 b&w illustrations.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Nickell (Detecting Forgery, Univ. of Kentucky, 1996) and Fischer, both nationally recognized forensic scientists, have collaborated on step-by-step descriptions of crime-scene investigation. Each chapter focuses on a specific technique (e.g., handwriting analysis, fingerprinting, autopsies, DNA profiling), and famous cases are used to illustrate how the particular technique helped solve the crime. The authors define investigative terminology in lay reader's language and clear up misused terms. Ballistics, for example, a term often associated with bullets and shell cases on popular TV shows, is actually the science of projectiles; one versed in this field is both a physicist and a mathematician. Academic libraries with strong criminology collections should consider purchase.?Michael Sawyer, Northwestern Regional Lib., Elkin, NC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0813120918
• ISBN 13: 9780813120911
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 312